Jury in Sir Jeffrey Donaldson sex abuse trial sent home for weekend
PacemakerThe jury in the sex abuse trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will continue its deliberations on Monday after being sent home for the weekend.
Judge Paul Ramsey summed up the case on Thursday morning.
Jurors were then sent out to consider their verdicts on Thursday afternoon and have now been deliberating for about seven hours.
The former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including one count of rape, arising from allegations he sexually abused two women when they were children.
The trial at Newry Crown Court is in its fourth week.
His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, denies five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending.
On Thursday, the judge said jurors must be satisfied that the prosecution had proven the case against Sir Jeffrey beyond reasonable doubt before they could convict.
The alleged victims, Complainants A and B, have both given evidence at the trial.
Sir Jeffrey also testified over two days.
The Donaldsons were arrested at their County Down home and charged on 28 March 2024.
Sir Jeffrey, 63, is accused of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 counts of indecent assault.
The offences allegedly occurred between 1985 and 2008.
At a pre-trial hearing last month, Lady Donaldson, 60, was declared unfit for a conventional trial on mental health grounds.
She has not participated in proceedings and instead is undergoing a trial of the facts in her absence.
The jury will decide if she committed the acts alleged, but it cannot result in a criminal conviction.
